Archive for the ‘chip forrester’ Category

Tennessee Democrats kicked off the 2012 campaign season by celebrating Jackson Day on the Bicentennial Mall in Nashville this past weekend. Our big tent party went into the night as 700 folks from across the state celebrated our past and looked forward to the future.

Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Chip Forrester today released the following statement on the two year anniversary of President Obama’s signing of the Affordable Care Act – which to date has helped millions of middle class families, seniors, and young people receive quality affordable health care:

NASHVILLE – Chip Forrester, chairman of the Tennessee Democratic Party, urged the General Assembly Thursday to give working and middle class families top priority on tax cuts and move all tax relief efforts toward eliminating the sales tax on groceries.

Following Tuesday’s vote by House Republicans to reject an extension of the payroll tax cut for the middle class passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in the Senate, Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Chip Forrester issued the following statement:

“In less than two weeks, 160 million Americans will be hit with a tax hike in the middle [...]

Today, in communities across Tennessee, we honor the courage and sacrifice of the many brave servicemen and women who have given so much to their country and fought to ensure that America continues to enjoy the freedoms and opportunities that make our nation great.

Mrs. Lasater went to a driver testing center in Mufreesboro to get a state-issued photo ID so she could vote, but ran into a problem. From The Daily News Journal1:

Aided by a walking cane to get around, she quickly decided she couldn’t stand up long enough to wait and her son could find no chairs available for her to sit. (Her son) Richard estimated at least 100 people were in the building, and workers were “way overworked and way understaffed.” He was told at the help desk there was nothing they could do but wait.

They left, upset about the law and the long lines.

“I’m just afraid people will say it’s too much trouble,” said Mrs. Lasater.

With Republican plans on the table to gut Medicare and privatize Social Security, it’s not a wonder why Republicans are making it harder for senior citizens to be voters.

This past legislative session, Tennessee Republicans passed a voter ID law—written by big, corporate specials interests—that requires all voters to have a government-issued photo ID at the polls.

The law sounds reasonable on its face. But there’s a huge problem: 675,000 Tennesseans, who, like Mrs. Lasater, are law-abiding citizens and eligible to vote—have no state-issued photo ID.

This law was passed in a hasty manner with insufficient funding and absolutely no mechanism in place to efficiently educate voters and distribute hundreds of thousands of state-issued photo IDs.

With only 19 weeks until the Primary Election, we’re running out of time. Since July, according to the article, the state has only issued 561 new voter IDs.

It’s almost guaranteed that some citizens who have voted for years without a problem will be turned away in next year’s elections when the discriminatory law goes into effect.

Would it bother Sen. Ketron if the votes of law-abiding citizens like 91-year-old Mrs. Virginia Lasater were not counted because they couldn’t wait in an hours-long line for a state-issued picture ID?

Ketron said, “NO… I’m not that concerned about it.”2

This is the difference.

The Tennessee Democratic Party won’t stop fighting until every law-abiding Tennessean can be a voter and participate in this democracy. Republicans like Bill Ketron, well, they just aren’t that concerned about it.

The excitement around Jackson Day is growing so fast, we had to buy a bigger tent.

That means we have 10 open tables and we are extending ticket sales until the seats are filled! So there’s still room for you to join us — under the big tent — on Bicentennial Mall in Nashville for our annual Jackson Day Dinner this Saturday, Oct. 1. Doors open at 6 p.m.